


Avatar: The First Guardian

by Oxfjord



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Original Character(s), Ratings: PG, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-14 13:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19274581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oxfjord/pseuds/Oxfjord
Summary: Fire. Air. Water. Earth. The world was stable, once. But unrest is more dangerous than ever, and the world may very well be on the brink of destruction. All seems grim, but who can deliver us from annihilation?





	1. The Fugitive

**Author's Note:**

> HAHAHA I stayed up way too late writing this. Hope y'all like it! Should be a fun ride!

The sun had gone down less than an hour ago. Nature was going to sleep, aside from the portions of it that were just beginning to wake up. One constant in this place, however, was the trickling of the babbling brook. Moonlight shone down on it through the lightly waving trees, shining silver with a gleam almost pulled right out of a beautiful painting. It was the picture of pure tranquility, not meant to be disturbed. Except, of course, it would.

From the brush, a humanoid figure sprung directly into the water, sending it splashing and disturbing some tiger-minnows that had idled there. The figure looked around in a hurried, desperate way, as if being followed. Before they could even cross to the other shore, however, their deliberate paranoia had been swiftly proven; two more figures, having come from the trees above, to strike at the first person. The left, attacking using a sudden burst of flame, produced from his very outstretched fist, and the other, manipulating the water of the stream itself, forming a whip-like shape to attack the runner.

The reaction was just as fast- the runner side-stepped the burst of flame, rolling out of the way of the water-whip, and retaliating with a pair of bolas aimed to trip up the water bender. His plan succeeded, the hooded, masked figure plummeting face first into the dirt path that hugged the creek’s sandy shore. However, the fire user was still hot on his heels, and didn’t seem too happy that his comrade had been taken down so easily. He countered with two rapid balls of flame, which spiraled around one another, closing in on their target. 

And the runner almost took the conjoined fireball to the chest, if not for some quick thinking. They removed their canteen fast as they could, throwing it and causing a small, but steam-infused explosion that clouded the area. His target now shrouded from view, the white-robed assailant became increasingly more aggravated, launching streams of flame from left to right, hoping to catch his opponent off guard with a sudden fire blast. He thought he heard a snapping twig, but couldn’t be sure. In one last desperate attack, he entered into a more traditional stance, gathering energy...and launching forth a bolt of volatile blue lightning.

###### 

**KTHOOM.** The sound of thunder was unmistakable, and it sure woke her up. The young girl jolted awake from her bed, looking out her bedside window. _Huh...Not raining,_ she thought, glancing over to her smart phone. Three am...well, she should probably go back to sleep. But something nagged at her, and told her that she had to at least check outside.

Her father was still asleep, she noted, seeing him through an ajar door. He worked very hard on the farm, and would often claim he was doing all the work. She laughed at the thought, knowing he was just joking. They both put in a lot of work, evidenced by their weary schedules and hardened hands. It was necessary. The farm was all they had. 

Which is why she wanted to scream when she opened the door. An encroaching fire, already licking the edges of their crops, threatening to engulf the entire field if she didn’t do something. There was no time to wake her father, so she immediately picked up a bucket, filling it with water from the nearest trough. She nearly tripped over the cow-pigs as she went, profusely apologizing to them, to which they just stared at her with the most vacant expressions. “Yeah, yeah. Enough of the sass, Mimi.”

The girl ran down the center of the crops, a thin path delineating them, growing closer to the fire. It wasn’t huge yet, she still had a chance. As she ran, she felt a familiar scaly, furry neck suddenly slide under her, raising her onto the back of a very large creature. “Kai-Len! About time! Hurry, buddy, we need to put that fire out.” She patted the animal’s side, a toothy mouth almost seeming to upturn in a little grin.

With the help of Kai-Len’s long, canine legs, it was a very short trip to the edge of the flames. The tree line seemed to be filled with the stuff, but if they could control it here at the edge...Well, they weren’t gonna save the trees anyway. She was no water bender; if she were, this would be a lot more simple. She hopped off of the jackal-gator’s back, spritzing and pouring the bucket’s load onto the flames as best she could. Her beasty friend helped as well, using his big, scaly, padded paws to stomp out the flame as best as he could.

After just a few moments, the young girl and her companion had mostly gotten the fire under control. It didn’t seem like it would spread any further. Looking down, she noticed Kai-Len chewing on a smoldering log. “Kai, spit that out! You’ll burn your tongue.” Looking up and making a small sound of indignation, he quickly let it drop down when he saw the deadly glare of those chestnut eyes. “Now, we just need to wait this out, since there’s not much we--” she began, cut off by a sudden commotion. 

Said commotion was, naturally, the cause of the fire, and the person he had been after. The pair came almost flying from the forest, just a few feet from the girl and her jackal-gator. The one in dark green clothes rolled away from the other, using a tactically placed jut of stone to launch himself just enough to fluidly land on his feet, able to very quickly get into a stance, ready for the fight. His attacker, wearing white robe-like clothes, with red accents, did a similar move, instead using a small jet of flame to achieve mostly the same effect. Before he attacked, however, he put a hand to his ear, which was obstructed by a white mask, and a hood on top of that. “4E, got the target in front of me. Good time for a drop.”

The girl had hidden. She was well beyond freaked out by the sudden development, and had been able to get behind a fallen log just before either of the men had spotted her. Kai-Len followed suit, his large but lithe form able to duck below the edge of the overturned log. He looked at her expectantly, to which she responded with a crazed look. She put a finger to her mouth. “Shh,” she whispered. But she had to at least peek. Hopefully they wouldn’t see her...

###### 

A right hook, then a left. The two men were fighting hand to hand, which seemed to be the dark-clothed man’s weak point, as the closed distance seemed to be his down-fall. He tried to create another stone pillar below the fire bender, but he just used it as a platform to launch into a knee strike right for his opponent’s jaw, sending him to the ground.  
As if on cue, as soon as the earth bender went down, there came the distinct sound of a helicopter overhead. A bright light shone down on the pair of benders, the grass below the craft billowing out from the wind generated by its blades. A rope dropped down, another figure in white using to rappel down to the pair. He pulled down his hood, revealing a young man...no, probably just a teenager, no older than the girl hiding a few feet away. He had bright green eyes and short brown hair,and his uniform was accented with yellow. 

“Uncle Shu,” he said. “You know that unauthorized “vacations” are illegal, right?” the teenager asked. The older one barely moved, able to raise himself up on one arm. The girl couldn’t really make out what he said over the sound of the helicopters. Whatever he must have said, however, seemed to anger the teen, causing him to form a dagger-like blade of flame. He grabbed the man- Shu -and held him up, putting the blade to his neck. The girl gasped, covering her mouth. And the boy looked over.

There was silence for a few moments, and she had her back tight to the log, eyes stinging from the smoking forest, as well as her own tears. The fire was out, but she had the feeling she was going to be toast in a minute. Who was that? Who are these people, and why are they here? These questions raced through her mind, but the thought that he had noticed her was at the forefront of her mind. She peeked again.

He wasn’t looking. She, more quietly this time, let out a sigh of relief, hands shaking. They were loading that man, the runner, onto the helicopter, which had come down. Shu looked around desperately, his hands bound, unable to escape. And his eyes found her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but that expression...it looked truly pained. She knew that if they took him, something truly horrible might happen to him. And, against her better judgement…

She was running again. But this time, she was faster than before. And she was running directly at the two fire benders, with a strange look to her eyes. 

However, the teen noticed her too soon. He struck into a stance, which was, she noticed, definitely not a fire bender’s! Had she been seeing things? Because, now, a square stone had been plucked from the earth, and was now hurtling towards her. Did Shu change sides? No...it was that boy! He was bending fire earlier, and now earth? The realization would hit her, but not before that stone did.

Or did it hit her? It couldn’t have, otherwise she would have been sent flying. It had been on a direct course for her head...But everyone there; the teen, his accomplice, Shu, even the girl, were surprised when she outstretched her fist, completely obliterating the stone. “Wait, I’m not a--” she tried to say, before noticing that a plume of flame was headed her way. For whatever reason, she didn’t know why, the girl decided that the best way to go from here was up. So up she went. Jumping with incredible height, leaving a small crater of impact from where she had leapt. This was all new to her, but her body felt like it was on autopilot. Now several feet up in the air, she was plummeting towards him..the fire, er, the earth...the fire and earth bender, with insane speed.

A stone pillar tried to stop her, but the girl had become a juggernaut, crashing through the stone like it was paper mache, coming through the other side and striking the boy who had attacked her with such force that he went sailing into the ground. Shaking, she looked at her hands, which seemed to have steam rising off of them. How had she done all that? “No, I, I didn’t mean to…” But her excuses fell on deaf ears. The boy was on his feet in moments, spinning on his hands, a ring of flame cascading from them towards her. As if by instinct, she flipped over the ring, something she had never done before. Where was this all coming from?

He tried close quarters, but she was too fast. Every punch he threw, she felt like she was seeing it in slow motion, easily able to move out of the way of them before they could hit her. A kick, infused with the power of flame, came sailing for her face, but it was simple to evade. “What the,” he growled, going for one more haymaker punch. He instead found a fist in his gut, sending him flying into the grass. The girl gasped, looking at him, then remembering what she had gone through all this craziness for. She dashed toward the other fire bender, who was far less skilled than the boy; incapacitated with one punch to the jaw. The black haired teenager picked up Shu, slinging him over her shoulder easily and getting away from the helicopter as fast as she could. Kai-Len came over to collect him, and she darted her eyes back at the scene.

Apparently, the freakish show of strength had been too much for them, and the two wanted to get out of there. The helicopter was already lifting off, with the two wounded benders inside it. The teen stared, bewildered. “You won’t make a fool of me again!” he shouted, as the helicopter raised up. But she wasn’t done. She ran forward, grasping the bottom of the rope...and held her ground. The helicopter stalled in its movement, suddenly having an anchor point to pull against. The dirt below her feet started to give, and despite being able to hold the machine back for a few moments, she had to let go of the rope. With that, it was able to finally take off and leave.

“What the…” she said. And very promptly, she passed out.

###### 

When the girl finally began to come to, she saw a couple faces. The face of her father, and...well, that must have been Shu. The two men were having a conversation; about what, she couldn’t really tell. When Shu looked back at her, she noticed how much he really did look like that other kid. She started to realize something else, as well…

“The Avatar,” she said, barely a whisper. This caught both of their attentions, drawing near to hear her. “That guy was the Avatar, wasn’t he?” It caught Shu off guard. But eventually, he had no choice but to nod. “Yes. My nephew, the one who was hunting me down...He’s the Avatar.” 

She sat up, which caused her father to put a hand on her shoulder and make her lay back. “Hey, you need to be careful. This man here, he said you passed out. What were you thinking?” he asked, a mixture of concern and perhaps anger in his soft brown eyes. The girl looked to the side, shrugging. “That guy looked like he needed help. So I...I don’t know. I wasn’t really thinking.” Her father sighed. “Yeah, obviously you weren’t. You could have gotten yourself killed, Mitsuko! Especially being a non-bender.” 

That last comment got Shu’s attention. “A non-bender? But the things I saw her do…” Her father cut him off. “My daughter is not a bender, and never has been. You must just be exaggerating her feats, Mr. Shu.” While they talked, Mitsuko looked at her hands. They were scratched up, but her hand felt fine. Considering it had gone through a block of stone like nothing, she thought it must have at least been broken...but it felt completely normal. “Dad.” He looked down, looking concerned as always. “Yes. Mitsuko?” he asked. She sat up, but was able to stop him from making her lay down this time. “I’m fine. I feel great, even,” she said, able to stand up and turn towards Shu. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

A few minutes later, the three of them were in the kitchen. The sun’s rays filtered through the partially covered window, leaving a faint glare on Mitsuko’s arm. “So, you’re from the Dominion, huh?” Mitsuko asked. Shu nodded his head, showing her an ID card that, as he put it, all citizens of the Sovereign Dominion of Elements had to keep on their person. “That would explain why no one knew where the Avatar was all this time…” her father added. It did make sense. 

With a scraping sound, Shu stood up. “I thank you for the tea, but I really should go. They’ll probably be after me soon...and I need to get to Ba Sing Se.” He brushed past Mitsuko’s father, who stopped him with a gentle hand. “Wait, wait. If you’re really going to leave right now, let me make a call first.” He glanced at Mitsuko, then back to Shu, lowering his voice. “I can make it a lot safer for you.” Shu took pause, but nodded in agreement, waiting there while the older man left the room. 

Mitsuko could hardly contain herself. “I’ve never been to Ba Sing Se. I mean, I’ve basically never left this farm. It’s basically been my whole life.” She shrugged, glancing at Shu several times. He had no reaction, tapping his foot impatiently. Mitsuko stared, and stared, then groaned. “C’mon, aren’t you gonna offer to take me along with you?” she asked, indignant. Shu looked bewildered. “Whatever do you mean?” he asked, completely confused. The girl stood, crossing her arms. “Well, obviously, I can hold my own! Plus, I totally saved your butt, and you owe me one.” The earth bender shook his head. “For one thing, I don’t even truly know what you did. It wasn’t like any bending I’d ever seen...and not only do you know anything about it, but neither does your father. I can’t be having some mystery strongwoman coming along when I go to talk to the prime minister of the Earth States.”

That response was not what she hoped for, but part of the young girl understood. She gave a dejected look, and sat back down. “And besides, I doubt your father would want you leaving here what with just happened. It wouldn’t be very safe.” 

After that, Mitsuko’s father came back and offered a smile to Shu. “You should be able to use the train to Ba Sing Se,” he said. Shu blinked, and smiled. “Well, thank you! I’m very grateful.” The two went for the door, Mitsuko’s father giving a darting look to his daughter. “I’m going to drive this gentleman to the train station, Mitsuko. You stay here and make sure the animals get their feed and refill their water from the well.” With that, they were out of the door. Mitsuko sighed. “I never get to go anywhere…”

A familiar face suddenly poked itself through the window. “Kai-Len! ...Kai-Len.” A mischievous smile formed.

###### 

At the station, Shu shook hands with Mitsuko’s father. “Thank you, Barai. I didn’t know two strangers would be so kind and helpful to me.” Barai raised a brow in question. “You mean my daughter? I seriously think you just saw things.” The bender shrugged. “Maybe so. But she saved me back there. She’s a good person.” He patted Barai’s shoulder, walking inside the station. “Huh…” He shrugged, headed back to his truck and driving back the way he came.

###### 

Once on the train, Shu settled into his seat, pulling from his rucksack a camera. It was small and discreet, and on it, he knew he had knowledge that would change the world. “Soon,” he murmured, looking out the train window, as the outside world began to move past, the train in motion. Shu sighed contentedly, feeling he could finally take a moment to close his eyes…

 _Whump._ The sound of a person plopping themselves into the seat beside his. Shu opened one eye...seeing Mitsuko. “M-Mitsuko, what are you doing…?” The girl grinned. “My dad said I could join you! He uh...wants me to see the world, and stuff!” she said. He seemed incredulous. He wasn’t sure he believed it...But he was too tired to object right now. “...Uh huh…” he mumbled, starting to close his eyes again. Mitsuko, satisfied with that, pulled her phone from her pocket...and making sure to shut it off. “This is gonna be a great adventure! You, me...and Kai-Len!” Eyes shot open. “The jackal-gator…? Where is he?”

###### 

“You shoo it off.” “No, you do it!” “I don’t wanna. Look at the thang’s _teeth!_ ” Kai-Len certainly did have a toothy smile. And it was clear to see, in between him chewing luggage and looking up at the engineers who had stumbled upon him. “J-just leave it, not worth losin’ a finger over,” one said. The other agreed.

###### 

Mitsuko grinned, in a familiar way. “Oh, don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”


	2. The White Lotus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire. Air. Water. Earth. The world was stable, once. But unrest is more dangerous than ever, and the world may very well be on the brink of destruction. All seems grim, but who can deliver us from annihilation?

This place was filled with mist...or maybe, clouds. The ground was nowhere to be seen, but Mitsuko had no trouble staying rooted in place. From the thick fog rose tall, gargantuan buildings, which scraped the sky above them with ease. As Mitsuko looked around, she felt slow, as if she were in water. And the world around her, besides being so odd to begin with, was tinged with an all encompassing, permeating green color.

Mitsuko tried to call out, but her mouth made no sound. When her eyes fell back onto the main path ahead of her, perhaps a street under those clouds, she saw a short figure in the distance. Squinting, Mitsuko could begin to make them out...it was a little girl. Becoming worried, Mitsuko started to move forward, holding her hand out toward the child.

“...Hey, wait…!” her voice finally came, like a recursive echo fading into existence.

When Mitsuko began to draw nearer, the girl turned and ran down an alleyway. But Mitsuko felt slow, and couldn’t keep up. By the time she was finally able to turn that same corner, the girl was gone, and a street identical to the one she had just been on came into view. When she looked behind her, the intersection had been replaced with another endless street going infinitely in the opposite direction. 

She tried to find the girl again, but she was nowhere to be seen. All around her, a sobbing sound started to echo throughout the city, building and building until it was almost too loud to bear. Mitsuko fell to her knees, holding her hands to her ears.

“Please, stop! Please...who are you?” she asked, shouting into the growing void.

“Mitsuko,” came a different voice, one a little more familiar. 

“Please...who…?”

“Mitsuko!”

###### 

She jolted awake. There was no thunder this time, only the slow-rolling clanking of train wheels. She looked to her right, seeing Shu. He had a concerned look on his face, as if he’d been trying to wake her for a while. His hand was on her shoulder, but as soon as she woke up, he hastily retracted it.

“Oh, thank goodness. I was worried...were you having a nightmare?” he asked.

“I...kind of. It was a really weird dream. I was in a city, and—“

Shu’s eyes darted to the window. “Hold that thought. It looks like we’ve reached the first stop...and we might have company.”

The earth bender pointed outside. Several men and women, in some form of armor, colored a light sky gray, and dark blue. There was a flower-like symbol on the chest pieces of their garb.

“Looks like a pai sho piece,” remarked Shu.

Mitsuko nodded, standing up and leaning by the window. “The White Lotus. It’s fine— they’re just peacekeepers.”

“Usually, the peace should keep itself…”

Before the pair could even leave their cabin on the train, the sliding door opened to reveal a fairly tall man, with short, graying black hair and a trimmed goatee, wearing the White Lotus armor they had seen before, but without the helmet the others wore. His collar was also adorned with two gold stars, one on each side.

“My name is Ronuk,” he said, “and I am the Sergeant Major of the White Lotus Peace Division.”

Ronuk’s gaze, with icy blue eyes, swept over the cabin. Momentarily, it rested on Mitsuko, but just as quickly as he acknowledged her, he focused on Shu, with his torn clothes, and his bruised face. Both were silent, perhaps stunned by the sergeant major’s sudden arrival.

He continued, “You’re Shu, isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, I am,” Shu said, with a nod.

Ronuk also nodded, and walked inside the cabin. He slid the door closed behind him, taking a seat opposite the both of them. With the door closed, and his subordinates out of view, the sergeant major’s cold demeanor seemed to warm, and he finally cracked a smile.

“You don’t need to worry about anything,” he said, mainly directing this at Shu. He leaned forward, putting his palms together, fingers pointed down. He did become serious again, his eyes turning toward Mitsuko. “You’ll have to forgive me, young miss, but I need to speak privately with your friend. You’re welcome to wait outside.”

Mitsuko still looked a bit frazzled, but with a reassuring glance from Shu, she turned to the door, opening it and closing it behind her. The two White Lotus members Ronuk had come with were there, standing guard, and said nothing to Mitsuko as she walked down the aisle, toward the door. It seemed that everyone had already gotten off the train...Which was very fast, but she couldn’t blame them. She felt uneasy around these guys, which was proven from her paranoid glance backwards at the guards. Still nothing. Taking a deep breath, she stepped off the train, and into the station.

“Look out!”

Instinctively, Mitsuko ducked when the warning was called. A small puff of fire smacked against the side of the train, leaving a tiny black smudge where it had hit. She looked around for the source of the voice, seeing a...very _young_ White Lotus member before her. He was maybe twelve or thirteen, with somewhat pale skin and a splash of freckles over his cheeks. When he sheepishly smiled, it was revealed that he had a small gap between his two front teeth. He put his hand to his head, mostly to adjust his helmet, which was much too big for him. “I’m sorry!” he said. 

The older White Lotus laughed, in a jovial way more than in any mockery of the young fire bender. A tall woman gave him a big-handed slap on the back, grinning at Mitsuko. “Yeah, sorry about Gahenna here. Sometimes he gets a little too _fired up_ for his own good,” she said, her joke getting more laughs from the others. Gahenna himself still looked sheepish, rubbing at the nape of his neck. Mitsuko laughed a little bit too, and shrugged.

“Hey, it’s alright. I feel like that’s far from the last fireball that’ll get thrown at me,” she said.

“I’m not _that_ bad,” said Gahenna, “and I promise I won’t do it again!” 

Mitsuko smiled. “Really, it’s okay, I forgive you. Just gotta practice more, right?” She stepped forward, giving him a curt bow. “I’m Mitsuko! It’s nice to meet you, Gahenna.” Trying his best to be polite, Gahenna hastily returned the gesture. Glad that was cleared up, the boy had a much more excited glint to his eyes. 

“Sergeant major said that that guy was from the Dominion...were you traveling with him? Do you know any fun secrets?” he asked, hopping about on his feet. Mitsuko smirked.

“Maybe I do...I bet you’d love to hear all about that, huh?” she asked. Gahenna nodded, and she smirked even more. She led him toward a bench to sit down, the other White Lotus members talking amongst themselves. “Since it looks like I’m stuck here for now, I guess I could tell you a story.” She glanced back at the train as she walked. “Hopefully everything goes okay,” she whispered under her breath.

###### 

Boots clacked rhythmically against the metal floor. The corridor was not wide, and was akin to something one might find in a submarine, with the exception of windows lining one side of the hall. Out of these windows, one could see the ground, several hundred feet below. 

The boots belonged to a woman. She put haste in her stride, obviously intending to get to her destination as soon as possible. She was dressed in the distinct garb that had come to be associated with the Dominion; white, robe-like clothes, the hood of which was down, her long brown hair flowing into and out of it, like a waterfall. Bangs fell over a face framed by dark glasses, through which piercing green eyes stared.

The woman opened a door, using an ID card to gain entry. Inside, she was greeted by a haze of steam. She grumbled, her glasses immediately fogging over, but she persisted stubbornly, closing the door and entering the chamber. The room was like a large sauna, with a pit full of hot coals in the center of the room. There were flat wooden tables around it, laying atop one of which was the Avatar himself. He didn’t hear the woman enter, too absorbed in the act of relaxing, with hot, smooth stones placed in a line down his bare back.

The woman had a very stern look on her face. “Bazhin.”

The Avatar jumped, hot stones clattering all around him. He quickly got up, not even bothering to pick them up. “L-Lady Kou!” he said, looking around for his shirt. She tossed it at him, already having it in hand, looking down to her handheld tablet without a second word regarding it. He put it on, doing his best to regain his composure. “...Let me guess, this is about the operation from this morning.” A narrow-eyed glare was all he needed to know, but she spelled it out for him anyways.

“Your failure to recapture your uncle means that he could wreak havoc in the Earth States. You’re aware of that, aren’t you?”

“O-of course I am,” Bazhin said, “...but you didn’t see what I did. That girl--”

“ _That girl_ should not have prevented you from completing your mission. You may be the pillar that our nation rests upon, but above that, you are meant to be the utmost supreme in raw bending power...even _if_ you aren’t fully trained yet. Maybe that’s why you failed utterly.” The remarks stung, which was evident from Bazhin’s down-turned gaze.

“It won’t happen again,” he said. To which Kou nodded, crossing her arms and staring him down.

“No, it won’t. This failure to recover Shu means that we will have to accelerate the Great Plan.”

Bazhin looked up, eyes wide. “You mean--?”

“Yes, your grace. Best to get ready.”

“...Yes, Lady Kou.” Bazhin bowed.

###### 

Tea had been served. Ronuk was happy for it, sipping at it with closed eyes and a smile. Shu was fine, holding his cup but not drinking from it. He glanced to his bag, then back to the sergeant major. “...I’m assuming that Barai is who told you I was coming, then?” he asked. Ronuk paused, looking into his tea. 

“...Yes. He was once one of ours. A very good officer. He left the life to raise a family; the both of us were close. I even attended the service for his wife, when she passed.” The topic brought solemnity to Ronuk’s face, and he took another sip. “Anyways. No one this side of the border has encountered a Dominion citizen in years. Naturally, this was of interest to us.”

Shu nodded. “The Dominion has been closed off for decades. I suppose my coming here is technically an invasion--”

“Under normal circumstances, perhaps. What little intelligence we get tells us that the Dominion has been ramping up military production for the past three years. Is that true?” Another pause from Shu, but he nodded. Ronuk sat back, stroking his chin with a contemplative look. “Barai said you needed to get to Ba Sing Se. I’m assuming you want the support of the Earth States…”

“...To stop the Dominion preemptively, yes,” Shu said, finishing Ronuk’s thought. Ronuk became ever more solemn. He looked out the window, seeing Mitsuko talking to Gahenna on a bench in the station. A large creature had joined them, which temporarily made him concerned, but he saw that Mitsuko was friendly with it. 

He put down his tea, standing up and leaning on the window-- much like Mitsuko had before. “That’s Barai’s girl, then? She was maybe four or five when I last saw her. He didn’t mention that she would be with you…”

“Er...he must have made the decision to send her after leaving the station.” 

“Must have.” As he watched the youngsters, a shadow began to form overhead. Must have been the clouds, right? “The forecast didn’t mention rain…” That was when he heard it. The roaring of engines. Ronuk’s eyes went wide, as the shadow grew. He hastily put a finger to the transceiver in his ear. “Evacuate the station! Evac--”

###### 

“...And then, he moved into a totally different stance and-” Mitsuko stopped, seeing her animal friend had finally made his way off the train, leaving two very frightened engineers back at the train car he’d left from. “Aww, there’s my buddy! Were you bothering those men over there, Kai?” she asked, to which the beast gave an inquisitive head tilt. Gahenna gasped, standing up and sinking his hands into the jackal-gator’s thick neck fur. 

“Is this a jackal-gator? I’ve never seen one in real life before!” The boy showed a great interest in rubbing Kai-Len’s fur, which the big guy had no problem with at all. He began to kick his foot in happiness, grinning.

Mitsuko smiled, joining him even. “Yep! Found him in the woods when I was a little girl. We’ve been best friends ever since. His name’s Kai-Len.”

“Kai-Len...I love it!” More rubs for the grateful canine. Gahenna looked off to the train, seeing Ronuk by the window. “Huh, I wonder what they’re…” He stopped, first seeing the encroaching shadow, and then hearing Ronuk’s sudden warning over comms. The boy’s eyes went wide, and he tried to warn Mitsuko.

But then the bombs hit.

###### 

The barrage was quick, swift, and brutal. By the time the onslaught ended, the station was more than half-way demolished, and the train was completely derailed. Fires had started everywhere, black-scarred craters littering the space where the station had once been. There were voices calling out, people trying to make their way out of the rubble. 

From the ground, came a moving object under the soil, which broke the surface to reveal Shu and Ronuk, the latter seeming to be very wounded in comparison to the other. Ronuk had his arm around Shu’s shoulder, but they didn’t get far before Shu had to set Ronuk down against a piece of broken stone. “Mitsuko?” Shu called, suddenly hearing her voice, and another’s. The boy…

Shu limped toward the sound of her voice, eventually finding her kneeling beside a pair of broken pillars. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, obviously scared out of her mind. “Shu, he’s under there...They’re both under there!” She was losing control of her emotions, and Shu hurriedly got into as strong a stance as he could.

“Hold on,” he said, gritting his teeth and steeling himself. He moved his hands and slid his feet, getting a grasp on the stone before him. But he was weakened, and it was a lot to move. The left hand pillar began to move up, slowly, but Shu felt that he would be unable to hold it for long. “Mitsuko...you need to help! I’m not sure how you do it, but...We need that mystery strongwoman right now,” he said, already straining.

Mitsuko was shaking. She felt like she couldn’t move, but Kai-Len and Gahenna were both stuck under there. She could hear his cries from under there...Could barely see his face. “He’s too young,” she said, forgetting just how young she herself was for a moment. She closed her eyes…

And before she knew it, she was underneath the pillars, in the small gap Shu had managed to create. She was able to get one hand underneath the weight of each pillar, feeling like she could be crushed at any moment. “Okay...okay...just do the same thing as before...what did...what did I even do?” She could feel her teeth begin to grind tightly, as she tried to push up against the stone. “S-Shu, I don’t know if I can do it…!” she called.

“And I know that you can! Just focus, breathe deep, and stay calm. I’m lifting as much as I can...I just need a little push from you!” 

“I’m trying, I really am,” she said, opening one eye. She could hear Kai-Len’s whimper, and tried to look back, to see her friend. She couldn’t...she had to move this rubble. She took a deep breath. She closed both eyes, and focused. She pushed with all her might, trying to reclaim that sensation from that very morning. 

Her eyes opened. However, they were nothing like before. Bright and glowing, a piercing green color. Shu hadn’t seen this, even when she had fought with Bazhin that morning. He stood back, able to let go of the pillars, as Mitsuko was able to lift them entirely on her own. They rose up, from the strength of her body alone, being thrown off of one another and to the wayside. Kai-Len and Gahenna were freed, able to climb out and run to Mitsuko, just as she fell to one knee, her eyes returning to normal. 

“Mitsuko! Y-you saved us!” said Gahenna, kneeling at her side, looking at her face. “...Are you alright? How did you even do that…?”

Mitsuko was breathing raggedly, but had just enough breath to respond...or, she would, if she weren’t interrupted by the approach of the massive airship overhead.

It was like a massive metal creature. Four massive spinning turbines, accompanied by many large jet engines, all worked in tandem to keep the thing afloat. More like a platform of war than a ship, many smaller planes flew from the flat surface atop it to swoop down and fly overhead, past the station and into the Earth States proper. Smaller variations flanked the main ship, similar platforms launching even more planes. “It’s an invasion force…” said Mitsuko. 

Shu fell to his knees, too. “I was too late,” he said. “I should have realized this would happen...I’m such a fool…”

Looking around, Gahenna quickly realized that they must have been the only survivors. He broke away from the others, running to the rubble and trying to locate his squadmates. He ran, and flipped rocks, and dug through dirt, looking. Then he saw a hand, lifeless and unmoving. “No…”

Kai-Len licked Mitsuko’s cheek, trying to nudge her to her feet. She was able to, just barely, her legs shaking. She looked up, seeing Shu fall, seeing Gahenna begin to sob, seeing the destruction that the Dominion had wrought on her new friends. Just when she thought it was over, she saw a helicopter flying in from the flying fortress. It flew in close, eventually landing near the four of them. 

Bazhin stepped out, as did Kou, and another Dominion soldier. On the horizon, she could see even more flying platforms, as well as large tanks breaking through the tree line, no doubt carrying a plethora of footsoldiers. Shu weakly tried to earth bend at Bazhin, but Kou intervened, using stone to enclose his wrists and neck, raising him up to face them. Mitsuko tried to step forward, Kai-Len snarling at the invaders.

“No...leave him alone! Why are you doing this? You’re the Avatar, right? Isn’t the Avatar supposed to be good?”

Bazhin scowled. “The Avatar does what's best for the Dominion,” he said, stating it as if it were fact. He seemed like he was about to continue speaking, but was interrupted when a sudden ball of flame whizzed right past his head. He turned to see Gahenna, who had charged at him, but easily moved past his blows, tripping the kid up and throwing him to tumble in the dirt. Mitsuko gasped, running to help him up. Gahenna was in tears.

“You killed them...they were my family...and they’re gone, ‘cause of you!” Gahenna tried to rush at Bazhin again, but Mitsuko was able to hold him back. 

“Gahenna, no...He’ll kill you too,” she warned. But Bazhin shrugged. He gestured to Shu.

“I already have what I came for. I think I’ll just let the tanks roll over you sorry lot,” he said, nodding to the footsoldier. Kou pulled Shu from the stone stocks she had trapped him in, but as she did, Shu shot a glance to Ronuk, who had been able to get to his feet. What happened next happened in just a few short moments; Shu wrested himself out of Kou’s grip, tossing his entire bag to Mitsuko, who caught it. 

“Run! Get to Ba Sing Se!” he shouted, able to strike the ground and cause a large stone wall to form between himself and the Dominion trio. Ronuk stood by his side, but looked back at the youngsters. “Go! Take my satomobile, it should still be intact!” he said, tossing them keys. Mitsuko was able to catch them as well, but hesitated. She looked at Gahenna, who still obviously wanted to fight. She wiped her eyes with her arm, and nodded, picking the boy up and throwing him onto Kai-Len’s back. He resisted, shouting and crying, but it had to be done. They started running for what used to be the front of the station, glancing back as Ronuk bended water from a compartment in his armor, just as the wall was busted through, Shu at his side, just as ready to fight. 

“I’ll see you again,” she said, hoping it would be true.

The front of the station was mostly rubble. Some of the parking lot was intact, and luckily, Ronuk was right. When she clicked the remote button on his key, the lights of an open topped, jeep-like satomobile lit up. She ran for it, Kai-Len easily able to hop into the back of it. Mitsuko pulled Gahenna into the front seat, the boy still resisting. “No! We have to save them!” 

“We will! We just...we aren’t strong enough, okay? We need help. We’ll go to the prime minister, and give him everything Shu knew, and we’ll stop the bad guys, okay?” She fumbled with the key, putting it into ignition and starting the satomobile. “Uhh…”

Gahenna glared. “You know how to drive at least, don’t you?” he asked. 

Mitsuko nodded, sweating at the brow. “Of course I do! I drove my dad’s, like...three whole times!”

“That’s not a lot…”

“It’ll have to be enough!” she said, putting it into reverse, going backwards a bit too fast, stopping abruptly. “Uhh…” She turned the wheel, changing the gear again, driving off and out of there. They were on a dirt road, going very fast. She looked back one more time, still able to see Shu and Ronuk fighting in the distance. “Please, stay strong.” With that, they were off.

It wasn’t easy at first, Mitsuko struggling to keep the vehicle straight on the dirt road, but eventually got the hang of it, driving down the road and into a forest. The road was taking them up a hill, but it was straight for now. Mitsuko felt like she could calm down, but Gahenna clearly could not. He had his eyes glued on the path behind them.

“Everyone died,” he said. He still had tears streaming down his face.

Mitsuko sighed. “...I’m so sorry. I could tell you were close to them.”

“They were the only family I had.” Kai-Len tried licking his face to cheer him up. It worked just a little bit, Gahenna sinking his arms into the jackal-gator’s fur.

“...Well, for now, I guess Kai-Len and I can be your family. Let’s do this together, alright? For them. For everyone.” She put her hand on his shoulder, giving him a little smile. 

Gahenna eventually returned it, wiping his eyes with his hand. “A-alright, Mitsuko. Thank you.” He looked ahead, just in time to see they were leaning to the right. “Hey, watch the road!”

“Oh, right!” Mitsuko corrected their course, seeing a break in the treeline up ahead. They went through it, the light of day shining on them once again. The satomobile came to screeching stop, when Mitsuko saw what was before them.

The landscape was not a pretty sight. Mitsuko stopped the engine, getting out and covering her mouth with her hands. Gahenna looked over, standing in his seat. “...That’s a lot of ships…” It really was a full scale invasion. Already, miles away, Dominion skyships were decimating towns and settlements below them, laying waste to all that was the Northwestern Earth States. “I guess it’s going to be a lot harder to get to Ba Sing Se now,” he said.

Mitsuko nodded her head, and Gahenna hopping out, holding her hand. “But we’ll do it together, right? As a team!” 

She smiled. “Yeah. As a team.” Kai-Len interjected, getting between them and licking both their faces. “Hahaha! You too, Kai.” She smiled, patting his head. She looked out at the war-torn landscape, eyes hardening in determination.

“Let’s save the world.”


End file.
